Lucille Ancrath
This follows Kim from when she's a little girl to adulthood and talks about all the social issues Korean women had (have) to deal with. Essentially, it will give you the context and background for a lot of current issues.
And in case anyone is wondering, I wouldn't call it feminist at all. The book is a bit dry and in a way a compilation of everything wrong with the society, but not at all untrue. As I was reading it, I recognized most of these issues, since they're also prevalent where I'm from.
This follows Kim from when she's a little girl to adulthood and talks about all the social issues Korean women had (have) to deal with. Essentially, it will give you the context and background for a lot of current issues.
And in case anyone is wondering, I wouldn't call it feminist at all. The book is a bit dry and in a way a compilation of everything wrong with the society, but not at all untrue. As I was reading it, I recognized most of these issues, since they're also prevalent where I'm from.
It is beautiful in every sense of the word.
It is beautiful in every sense of the word.
If Peter Mohrbacher's Angelarium and The Wolf Among Us had a daughter, it would be this book. Liked it, will read the rest of the series.
If Peter Mohrbacher's Angelarium and The Wolf Among Us had a daughter, it would be this book. Liked it, will read the rest of the series.
I think I like this one more than A Dead Djinn in Cairo. Probably because it packs a simpler story in a longer format. There's way less info dumping and the writing style over all feels more... comfortable, perhaps? There are still some amateurish moments throughout, but I don't think it breaks emersion or anything like that.
I think I like this one more than A Dead Djinn in Cairo. Probably because it packs a simpler story in a longer format. There's way less info dumping and the writing style over all feels more... comfortable, perhaps? There are still some amateurish moments throughout, but I don't think it breaks emersion or anything like that.
I gave this 4 stars because I think it should be in Young Adult and as such it is a fun read. But as Adult Fiction... nah. It reminds me a lot of Winter's Orbit in a sense that the world and story work on the surface, for the purpose of a fun, casual story, but if you think deeper for 5 minutes it absolutely falls apart. Again, as YA this is common and generally accepted at this point. But I personally don't think these books belong in Adult Fiction.
I gave this 4 stars because I think it should be in Young Adult and as such it is a fun read. But as Adult Fiction... nah. It reminds me a lot of Winter's Orbit in a sense that the world and story work on the surface, for the purpose of a fun, casual story, but if you think deeper for 5 minutes it absolutely falls apart. Again, as YA this is common and generally accepted at this point. But I personally don't think these books belong in Adult Fiction.
mild spoiler about the cause of the main conflict - no details
I love the idea of this book - terraforming, time travel, science, hostile environment - it's all the things I'm interested in. But what annoys me to no end is that the main conflict is caused by a scientist failing to follow basic procedure.
Now I know some people won't care about this stuff and will consequently enjoy this novella way more than I have. But I'm tired of reading stories about top tier, hand-picked, veteran scientists who somehow disregard orders on a whim - even though that will most likely compromise their research. This simply isn't realistic and doesn't happen nearly enough in real life to be the main cause of conflict in so many books. Yes, human error is normal, but when the most basic “come back, put on the gloves” types of orders get ignored only because the story needs a conflict, that's just laziness on the writers part.
As a side note, I had the same problem with Planetfall (not a spoiler) where half the conflict stemmed from people magically not agreeing upon basics before going to space to form a colony. Things like “if someone attacks us, do we kill them or stun them?” are agreed upon BEFORE the mission. (If you like this novella you should read Planetfall too).
Other than that, Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach is pretty cool, though I think it would benefit from another 100 pages or so. There's a lot of scientific jargon and concepts in here that just don't have the time to fully sink in. More pages would also add more depth to the main character's inner dialogue, which would make her relationship with Kiki even better.
But other than all of that, I did like it, it has a good backbone and I'd read a sequel.
mild spoiler about the cause of the main conflict - no details
I love the idea of this book - terraforming, time travel, science, hostile environment - it's all the things I'm interested in. But what annoys me to no end is that the main conflict is caused by a scientist failing to follow basic procedure.
Now I know some people won't care about this stuff and will consequently enjoy this novella way more than I have. But I'm tired of reading stories about top tier, hand-picked, veteran scientists who somehow disregard orders on a whim - even though that will most likely compromise their research. This simply isn't realistic and doesn't happen nearly enough in real life to be the main cause of conflict in so many books. Yes, human error is normal, but when the most basic “come back, put on the gloves” types of orders get ignored only because the story needs a conflict, that's just laziness on the writers part.
As a side note, I had the same problem with Planetfall (not a spoiler) where half the conflict stemmed from people magically not agreeing upon basics before going to space to form a colony. Things like “if someone attacks us, do we kill them or stun them?” are agreed upon BEFORE the mission. (If you like this novella you should read Planetfall too).
Other than that, Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach is pretty cool, though I think it would benefit from another 100 pages or so. There's a lot of scientific jargon and concepts in here that just don't have the time to fully sink in. More pages would also add more depth to the main character's inner dialogue, which would make her relationship with Kiki even better.
But other than all of that, I did like it, it has a good backbone and I'd read a sequel.
The post war desolate atmosphere is thick and wraps everything in the avail of timelessness and mild depression while the two main characters babble their way in circles, sometimes normal, other times imbecile. The humor has roots in the art of making fun of the dumb, the unable and the poor, which I disdain, but it also has some good moments and the language is very quick, and at times impressive, especially since the original was crafted in French.
Ted-Ed says this play is a part of the “Theatre of the absurd” movement and even though I don't really know what that is, it sounds about right. In general, I don't enjoy non sensical tales and didn't expect much from this, but I gave it a try because it is famous and quite short. Oh and if you didn't know, there is a recording of the entire play/movie on YouTube.
Overall, I understand what Beckett was trying to show us about life and time and waiting and wanting and needing and not having and never reaching the end; but having to sit through this felt like I was trapped in there, with him - and perhaps that was intentional, but dear god, let me out.
The post war desolate atmosphere is thick and wraps everything in the avail of timelessness and mild depression while the two main characters babble their way in circles, sometimes normal, other times imbecile. The humor has roots in the art of making fun of the dumb, the unable and the poor, which I disdain, but it also has some good moments and the language is very quick, and at times impressive, especially since the original was crafted in French.
Ted-Ed says this play is a part of the “Theatre of the absurd” movement and even though I don't really know what that is, it sounds about right. In general, I don't enjoy non sensical tales and didn't expect much from this, but I gave it a try because it is famous and quite short. Oh and if you didn't know, there is a recording of the entire play/movie on YouTube.
Overall, I understand what Beckett was trying to show us about life and time and waiting and wanting and needing and not having and never reaching the end; but having to sit through this felt like I was trapped in there, with him - and perhaps that was intentional, but dear god, let me out.
It's surprisingly short. I listened to the audio version narrated by Lana and it was nice; very similar to her music. It has that same peach-scented, out-of-focus sort of atmosphere, heavy with melancholy. My favorite is SportCruiser.
It's surprisingly short. I listened to the audio version narrated by Lana and it was nice; very similar to her music. It has that same peach-scented, out-of-focus sort of atmosphere, heavy with melancholy. My favorite is SportCruiser.
I found all of these to be drier than a vacuum cleaner. Ideas themselves are good but the way he writes is a mix of 1800s Frankenstein and 2000s white paper on social economics written by an AI. The only story that has stuck with me in a positive way is The Great Silence, but I've heard that one a long time ago on Curio.
I found all of these to be drier than a vacuum cleaner. Ideas themselves are good but the way he writes is a mix of 1800s Frankenstein and 2000s white paper on social economics written by an AI. The only story that has stuck with me in a positive way is The Great Silence, but I've heard that one a long time ago on Curio.
